Carbon Costume

Ruth (voiced by Austin Tindle / Kōki Uchiyama) is the shapeshifting familiar of young Chise Hatori, the titular Ancient Magus’ Bride. Whether he’s in his waffle-loving human form or a big black dog, he’s so loyal and ever so kind. Prior to meeting Chise and her magic mentor, Elias, Ruth was the pet dog of a young woman named Isabelle, and known to her as Ulysse/Yurishi. Loyal to a fault, he stayed by Isabelle’s grave after she died suddenly, watching over her in hopes that she’d once again wake up. In his desperation, he became a fae spirit whose presence overcame the graveyard until Chise was able to reason with him. Now that he’s Chise’s familiar, he presents and dresses as a brooding young man close in age with his young mistress.

Janis Sarkasian is a character in the Mean Girls musical. Similar to the movie, she is Damian’s best friend who marches to the beat of her own drum. Artsy and rebellious, she doesn’t care what anyone thinks about her. This sentiment is the main point of her song, “I’d Rather Be Me.” When Cady Heron arrives as the new student, Janis and Damian take her under their wing to seek vengeance on Regina George. Janis warns Cady not to be deceived by Regina’s niceness, as per her own experience. The only changes from the movie include the last name (Ian to Sarkasian) as well as her sexuality. Barett Wilbert Weed, who originated the role on Broadway, has confirmed that in her portrayal, Janis is a lesbian. This costume guide features a denim jacket to use as a base. Follow this tutorial,  where Ellis Claire Perlman will teach you how to paint and decorate your jacket to make it stage accurate. To achieve her punk makeup look, follow this tutorial by popular musical theater Youtuber Katherine Steele.

Spectre is a fairly iconic anti-hero in the DC comics. And part of what makes him so widely read is the fact that several people have carried the title of Spectre. Each puts their own unique twist on the character from his behavior to his costume. But a few things always remain the same: his ghostly pallor and the stark green of his clothing.

For this costume we’re going with the more traditional Spectre look. You can either use body paint to achieve his particular shade or you can wear a white body-suit as links for both options have been included. Even if you choose the body suit you may still want to use body paint for your face since over-the-face body suits can be uncomfortable very quickly.

You will then need a green hooded cloak, green shorts, green boot toppers, and green gloves that cuff at the wrist.

Noodle (voiced currently by Haruka Abe) is the mysterious lead guitarist of the virtual band, Gorillaz. As a small child, she introduced herself with the one word that became her band stage name, and joined Gorillaz after the unceremonious departure of their prior guitarist. Since the band’s 1998 formation, Noodle has grown up and gone through several aesthetic phases. Now age 29, she sports dark bluish hair and a punky fashion sense.

For this costume, I’ve combined two outfits, one from character concept art and another from the “Saturnz Barz” music video, where she wears an unusual pair of sunglasses. We suggest buying two pairs of inexpensive sunglasses and switching out one of the lenses.

In the mobile video game Brawl Stars, Byron is a Mythic Brawler.  With a distinguished beard and a colorful outfit, Byron may not pack much punch in his attacks, but he can be a valuable member of his team.  If you have the ability (and desire) to grow out a beard to match Byron’s, you may be able to use a white hair coloring spray to recreate his look.  Otherwise, a prosthetic facial hair piece can help you achieve his wizened appearance.

Alexander Gumuchian, aka bbno$ (pronounced baby no money) is a Canadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Born in Vancouver, he is best known for his freestyle raps and signature pink beanie/round glasses. His single, “Lalala,” which began as messing around with producer Y2K in the studio, unexpectedly went viral as a a Tiktok sensation. It now has over 600 million plays on Spotify. He often collaborates with fellow rapper Yung Gravy.

Lirael is the only young woman in her commune, the Clayr, who has not yet manifested her people’s ability of clairvoyance. As she gets older, she comes into her own as an assistant librarian, proudly wearing the red robes of her position. (The library, full of books on magic, empowers her with other skills.) Given the lack of acceptance from her peers, Lirael and her magical canine friend take a journey to learn the truth of her past.

Janana is one of Papa Louie’s most loyal customers. And, as her name implies, she’s just bananas about, well bananas. But that’s not all Janana likes. She is wild about toppers on her orders. Even more than toppers, though, she is crazy about music. Ever since getting a job at the local record place in high school, Janana has been big in the local music scene. Big enough that she’s now the agent for Scarlett and the Shakers!

Janana has to main looks. They are very similar which makes it easy to switch between the two if you want to. The biggest difference is the color of her coveralls and the addition of a black checkered sweater over her blue coveralls.

Striped coveralls are hard to come across so your best bet is a little bit of DIY. White coveralls and fabric paint make it easy to whip up the exact look you need. With the purple coveralls you will need to tie your black checkered sweater around your waist whereas it can be worn with the blue coveralls. With  both looks you’ll want to wear a yellow shirt under your coveralls, white sneakers with black toes and a yellow laces, a black choker, and square glasses. Both looks also require a blonde wig styled back in a ponytail.

A black belt is visible in the second look though it’s likely worn with both looks and just covered up in the purple outfit. Janana’s legs are also hard to see so we can’t be sure but this is a good looks to wear black leggings with if you want something covering your legs.

Popo and Nana are a brother and sister that first appeared in the self-titled NES game Ice Climbers. Since then they’ve been largely out of use except for an appearance as playable characters in Super Smash Bros. And, according to rumor, a possible new Switch game.

The siblings dress alike, though Popo prefers blue and Nana prefers pink. Both wear parkas with matching pants and boots. They also carry large wooden mallets to help them in their adventures.

You can of course wear a parka for your costume. But since most conventions are indoors – and all that walking gets warm – you can recreate the look with a long hooded. No matter which you choose, however, you will need to add fake fur trim around the hood, hem, and sleeves.

In addition to your preferred top you will need leggings that match the color of your parka as well as a matching pair of boots and a mallet. Of course you wouldn’t wear leggings to actually climb a mountain. But for the sake of comfort while cosplaying, they’re your best bet here!

Rasputin/Russian Man is the dancing avatar in Just Dance, most obviously for the song “Rasputin (Club Mix)” by  Boney M. and G. Mart. While it’s unknown whether the performer is Rasputin or some random guy, he wears traditional Russian garb, namely a Papacha (Russian winter cap). He dances on a frozen lake in front of a winter landscape, and what appears to be St. Basil’s Cathedral, one of the most famous buildings in Moscow, Russia. For whatever reason, this dance has become a meme, from viral Tiktoks to a remix with “WAP” by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion.